Trade on global carbon markets in 2009 rose 80% compared with the previous year to 8.7 billion metric tons, driven mostly by the European Union cap-and-trade market, according to a report from TheCityUK.

Trading more than doubled on the EU's Emissions Trading System to 6.3 billion tons in 2009, with the London-based European Climate Exchange accounting for 98% of the exchange trade in futures and options.

Volumes in the first half of 2010 rose by a further 20% said TheCityUK, which promotes the U.K. financial services industry.

Elsewhere, trade in the U.S. Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative increased more than tenfold to 806 million tons last year, driven by expectations of federal legislation in the U.S. However, progress on a U.S. cap-and-trade bill has been slow.

Primary transactions in the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism almost halved to 211 million tons in 2009 as buyers have found it difficult to access project finance following the financial crisis. The CDM is also constrained by a lack of bankability of credits after 2012 and lengthening delays in the approval process, with three years from application to first issuance of Certified Emission Reduction credits, TheCityUK said.

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